Dark Days I
by sWeEt NoThInGs
Summary: The meeting of the gang and what they're first year was like ... load of fun and laughter!
1. The Invitation

****

CHAPTER ONE

~The Invitation~

James Potter

Eleven year old James Potter stretched luxuriously on his Quidditch-patterned bed. He opened his heavy eyelids and contentedly smiled to himself. He sat up, rubbed his eyes and felt around for his black-rimmed glasses. Finding them, he got out of bed and looked into his mirror. His reflection looked back at him.

"Looking good, Potter," he said, grinning at the black-haired, brown-eyed, skinny, rather cute looking kind of boy in the mirror. He picked up his blue-silver comb and ran it through his messy and tangled black hair. He knew this was absolutely pointless since his hair never liked to be sleek and neat, but his mother and father had instructed him to do it every morning.

He sped downstairs and found his parents, Tanesia and Hendrick Potter, sitting down at the enormous, marble breakfast table, having a cup of hot tea and reading the wizard paper, _Daily Prophet. _He also noticed a thick envelope sitting on top of the smooth surface of the table. Sapphiress, the Potter's large, female and very reliable owl was sitting perched on a piece of wood near the kitchen, munching on some bones. James joined his parents. 

"Morning, son," greeted Hendrick Potter, setting down his newspaper to have a look at James. "Combed your hair, I hope?" 

"Yes, dad, I did. No need to worry," James answered, laughing.

"You have a letter, too, dear," piped in Tanesia Potter, "from Hogwarts."

"Oh, wow!" exclaimed James, grabbing the thick and heavy envelope. Everyone knew that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was the best wizard school in the whole of England. Eleven year old wizards and witches always receive a letter inviting them to attend. James read the letter aloud:

__

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of your new school books and other equipment required. We hope to see you at King's Cross Station, at eleven o'clock on the first of September on Platform nine and three quarters. The Hogwarts Express will be waiting for you there. 

Deputy Headmistress,

Professor M. McGonagall.

"When and where will we buy all this stuff?" James asked his mother and father, turning the pages and scanning the equipment list. "Diagon Alley, I s'pose?"

"Yes," answered Mrs Potter. "We might as well go there tomorrow - I still need some Potion Ingredients to make that stove cook all by itself."

"Brilliant," said James excitedly. "I can't wait to get my own wand!" 

* * * 

****

Sirius Black

Sirius Black's brown, tawney owl came speeding through the lounge room window and whacked him squarely on the back of the head. He yelled an annoyed "Ouch!", went keeling backwards and landed heavily on his back. He could hear his mother chuckling at him. Drawing back the black curtain that had come across his face - which was his shoulder length hair - he saw his younger brother run in the room, screaming "Whoosh!" as he held a miniature broomstick on one hand. Spotting the letter on the owl's foot, he grabbed it.

"Look! Sirius has got a letter, mum!" he yelled.

"A letter?" Sirius asked, getting up and rubbing his sore elbow. "Give that here then, Jamiel."

"No!" answered his nine year old brother, dancing out of his reach. "If you want it, you have to try and get it!" Then he ran around once more yelling once in a while, "Come and get it, Sirius!"

"Jamiel!" Sirius said threateningly. _"Give that here now."_

"No!" Jamiel stuck out his tongue.

"Why you little git!"

"_Sirius, Jamiel…"_ Roanna Black said. "Stop bickering and give that letter to Sirius, Jamiel - as it is his. Sirius, don't insult your brother."

Jamiel threw the envelope at Sirius and once again, he got hit in the head. Sirius opened his mouth to mock his brother but he caught his mother's angry glare and he knew that it was a wiser choice to stay quiet and rub his throbbing head without complain.

He began to open the letter and recognised with a funny jolt in the pit of his stomach that it was from the famous Wizardry School. 

"Mum! Mum!" he called excitedly. Mrs Black turned to face her skinny son. "I got accepted, mum! I'm going to Hogwarts!"

"Oh, well done, dear!" Mrs Black exclaimed, giving Sirius a cuddle while Jamiel pouted and scowled. "When does the Hogwarts Express pick you up?"

"Um…" Sirius looked over the page, "eleven o'clock on the first of September." He finally answered.

How come _he _gets to go?" his brother asked sulkily. "Sirius always gets to do fun stuff."

Sirius grabbed his little brother and ruffled his identical black hair. "I know I do, Jamiel," he said. "See, they know who's smart and who's not. Therefore, I'm the smart one, and, well, you're the dumb one." He grinned at Jamiel, ruffling his already knotted hair.

"Muuuuum!"

"Don't listen to your brother, dear, he's only joking –"

"No I'm not!" Sirius cried innocently.

"Anyway," Mrs Black continued, ignoring Sirius, "We'll bring you with us to Diagon Alley when we buy his school things. You'll like it there." Then she sighed. "Your father would have been very happy, you know Sirius," Mrs Black turned to him, eyes slowly welling up with tears, "he used to love Hogwarts too."

* * * 

****

Remus Lupin

"Are you sure you want to go, Remus? I'm just a bit concerned, sweetie…you know what happens every month - what if some people caught you? What if - what if, you bit somebody?" 

"Mum," Remus Lupin sighed exasperatedly, "Nobody will find out what I am. Look," he showed his mother the letter, "Dumbledore's got it all planned out -"

"Dumbledore?" Mrs Lupin interrupted, looking puzzled. "Who's Dumbledore?"

"The Hogwarts _Headmaster_, mum," Remus explained impatiently. It wasn't that he was mad, it was just that he had explained this to her countless times before.

"Oh! _That _Dumbledore."

"Here, read the letter…go on…" Remus passed the piece of parchment to his mother and she began to read aloud:

__

Dear Mr and Mrs Lupin,

Your son, Mr Remus Lupin, has been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We are aware of his situation but we assure you that he will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts - as so will other students - on the hands of Albus Dumbledore. A magical tree will be planted on the school grounds for the use of your son. He shall be brought there every month by our matron, Madam Pomfrey. There, he is to stay alone until he is safe. We ask you not to worry about him - he will be well cared for at school.

If you wish to send Remus to Hogwarts, please send us an owl by the 28th of July saying so. An equipment list and a Hogwarts Express ticket has been enclosed with this letter. 

Deputy Headmistress,

M. McGonagall

"See mum?" Remus said gently, placing a hand on his mother's arm. "They've got it all planned out and I'll be able to go to school!""Well, I suppose we'd better send them an owl then," sighed Mrs Lupin. "Go and ask your father for Oscar - we can use him."

Letting out a whoop of joy, Remus ran outside to the garden where his father was persuading the pesky gnomes to leave his vegetable patch alone.

"Dad?"

Mr Lupin turned around and heaved a sigh. "They're wrecking the whole place, honestly," he said. "I've already sprayed some _Wally Wasfast's Gnome No More Garden Solution _but they just won't go!"

"Er…" Remus said, wondering what to say. "Maybe if you try another brand?"

"Maybe…"

"Anyway, dad," Remus said, wanting to change the subject, "can I borrow Oscar? Mum wants to send a letter to Hogwarts to say that I can come."

"Hogwarts?" said Mr Lupin. "Oh, I see! You've been accepted, have you? Okay, then, well, Oscar's just upstairs having a nap…you can go wake him up - mind you, he hasn't had a job for ages."

* * * 

****

Peter Pettigrew

"Peter!" called Mrs Pettigrew sternly. "You have an owl!"

"Peter's got an owl, Peter's got an owl," chorused the twins, Tammy and Tommy.

"I-I do?" Peter Pettigrew stammered. "Who from?"

"_I _don't know!" his mother threw up her hands in frustration. "Maybe if you _open _it, it'll _say_."

"Oh-oh…right," Peter said, embarrased. He grabbed the letter from his mother and started to open it with trembling hands.

"Read it then, boy!" his father barked.

"Okay," Peter unfolded the pieces of parchment and saw a neat and loopy handwriting in emerald ink. He read, "D-dear Mr Pettigrew, we are p-please to inform you, that you have been-been accepted to Hogwarts S-school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He stopped and gulped.

"Accepted to _what?_" Tammy asked out loud.

"Shut up, Tammy!" their father snapped. "Keep reading, Peter!"

"Okay then…erm… Please f-find enclosed a-a list of your new school books and other equipment re-required." Peter kept reading and stammering and finally he looked up from the letter to meet the annoyed faces of his parents. Since they said nothing, he decided to say something himself - which took a lot courage. "So-so, can I go then?"

"Suppose you should," said his mother, scowling at him.

"Can we buy my school things tomorrow?"

"I guess."

"Can you dr-drop me off at the Station?"

"Alright, already!" growled his father.

__

Yes, thought Peter happily. _I won't have to put up with my family for a whole year! _Peter never liked his family. They were always mean and unkind to him; treating him like some slimy worm that they were tempted them to squash. That's what caused him to stutter so badly. But it was his family. He could do nothing about that. And if he could, he would.


	2. The Meeting

****

CHAPTER TWO

~The Meeting~

James Potter

"C'mon mum! Hurry up dad!" James called to his parents, while he sat impatiently in the family car, waiting. 

"Yes, yes, coming dear." Mrs Potter emerged from inside the house putting on her high-heeled black sandals. 

__

She looks funny, thought James as he watched her mother bunny hop with one foot because she was trying to shove her sandal on the other.

After several minutes of impatient waiting, they were all in the car and driving on the road to London. Arriving at the London Mall, the three of them walked to the Leaky Cauldron (unseen to those who haven't got any magical blood, otherwise called as "muggles") and stepped inside the grubby pub. They walked straight through to the back door and tapped the bricks. Diagon Alley materialised before them. 

They had reached a shop which looked extremely old and battered but as James looked at its front window and saw what was there, he didn't care what the shop looked like. He kept staring hungrily at the thing in the shop. It looked sleek and wonderful, its tail in one straight line, no twigs sticking out. Its beautiful handle glistened as it lied there, beyond the window-glass, untouched. It was a broomstick. It was the new Silver Meteor. 

"Wow," said a kid beside James, goggling just like him at the broomstick, "isn't it _beautiful?_ It's the latest model and its _perfect! _Can I pleeeease get one, mum?" and the boy ran off, calling to his mother's back. James turned to his own mother, tearing his eyes from the Silver Meteor. 

"Can we buy it mum?" he asked hopefully.

"No," said Mrs Potter sternly. "It says on your Hogwarts letter that first years aren't _allowed _broomsticks."

"Oh," James muttered to himself, bowing his head in disappointment. He always loved the vision of him flying. He knew, though he had never felt it, that flying would drive away his worries; send him in a blissful world and just let him appreciate everything. But now, it seems, he would not get to feel that feeling for a long time.

* * *

****

Sirius Black

"Look, Jamiel, frog brains," said Sirius, scooping up a spoonful and shoving it under his brother's nose. 

"Eew! Muuuum!" Jamiel cried.

"Oh, c'mon, it tastes just like chicken," joked Sirius, pretending to sniff the frog brains but not really breathing at all.

"You're an idiot, Sirius," said Jamiel, scowling at his older brother.

"Why thank you. That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," smirked Sirius, now grabbing some powdered beetle.

They were in _Potions For You_, a tiny shop that sold potion recipes, potion ingredients and already made potions. The front door bell tinkled and a boy that looked about Sirius's age walked in with what seemed like his parents. The boy walked over to the same shelf as Sirius and started to examine the different bottled animals. Then the boy spoke.

"Hullo," he said, giving Sirius a friendly smile, "Are you a Hogwarts student?"

Sirius stared. How had this boy guessed that he was going to Hogwarts this year? He looked into the boy's deep brown eyes and smiled as well. "Yeah, my first time this year, how about you?"

The boy scratched his head, making his already messy black hair even scruffier. "Same as you. First year."

"Oh ok…" Sirius couldn't think of anything else to say. Then, feeling as though he might use some friends at school, he said, "Sirius Black, at your service." And with that, Sirius grinned and did a sweeping bow. The other boy laughed.

"James Potter, at your service," he said, bowing, but, as a result, his glasses fell off. "Oops," he said, blushing slightly. "Forgot about that…" Sirius laughed. "Have you seen the new Silver Meteor?" James asked.

"Um, no." Sirius admitted.

"I have!" came a sudden squeal. Jamiel was back. "I've asked mum if I could have one, but she said no."

"James, this is my brother, Jamiel."

"Hi," James said politely.

"You know why mum said no, Jamiel?" said Sirius, bending over so his face was level with his brother's.

"No, why?"

"Because she knows that the broom will fly off before you even get to ride it," replied Sirius.

"Oh yeah?" Jamiel retorted defensively. "And why's that?"

"Cause you stink and it won't be able to bear your smell."

"Muuuuum!" Jamiel cried once again, running to his mother to tell on Sirius. 

James and Sirius laughed, unaware that their first meeting was the start of their ever-lasting friendship.

* * *

****

Remus Lupin

"Wand first, I think dear," Mrs Lupin said to her son, looking around and catching sight of _Ollivander's Wand Shop: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC_. They entered the dusty shop and peered inside. Mr Ollivander saw them and dashed to them at once.

"A wand for this young lad?" he said, putting his face close to Remus's. 

"Y-yes," replied Remus, startled.

"Stay there then and we'll take a few measurements." The magical measuring tape came whooshing out of nowhere and started take measurements between Remus's nose, eyes, shoulders, legs and arms - all by itself. Once finished, it rolled itself up into a ball and landed with a soft thud on the dusty floor.

"Right, now," Mr Ollivander gave Remus a wand with a neat handle. "Seven and a half inches, yew, unicorn tail hair…give it a wave," he said looking expectantly at Remus.

He took the wand and - without knowing what to expect - gave it a small wave. Nothing happened.

"Nope, not that one, obviously," muttered Mr Ollivander. "Try this one: oak, nine inches, dragon heartstring, good for charm work."

Remus tried the wand and nothing happened again. 

After trying what seemed like about twenty wands, the Lupins walked out of _Ollivander's _with Remus clutching the bag that contained his destined wand. It was eleven inches, mahogany and contained a phoenix feather along with a dragon scale. Feeling thoroughly excited on the idea that he will at last get to do some of his own magic, he and his parents headed off to _Flourish & Blotts, _the book shop, to buy the rest of his equipment.

* * *

****

Peter Pettigrew

"Stop _tugging, _Tommy!" Mrs Pettigrew shrieked at her son.

"Mum! Let's go to _that_ place first!" Tommy asked eagerly, giving Mrs Pettigrew puppy-dog eyes. "There's a broomstick in there!"

"_No,_"Mrs Pettigrew said firmly and in reply the twins both said, "Awwww!" at the same time. 

"Don't 'awwww' me like that, you two," she said, giving the twins an evil eye, "we do what I say and no complaining."

They headed to a shop that displayed a number of books with titles such as: _Learn the Curse of the Bogies, Take Revenge on Your Evil Friends _and _Love, Like and Hate: Tricky Curses for Brilliant Minds._

As the Pettigrews walked up to the shop, Peter looked up. Overhead, a wooden sign attached to the entrance door read: _Flourish & Blotts. _

"What books do you need?" Peter's father asked, spitting the words bitterly. 

"Erm…" Peter consulted his list, "_Starting Transfiguration, Are You? _by Juyius Jolibuy. C-can we get that f-first?"

"Whatever," his mother said, sounding pathetically bored.

Peter ran to the Transfiguration section and grabbed the book fervently when he spotted it, admiring its handsome leather cover. Then he read the next thing on his list, "N-next is: _Charmy Charms _by Restus Liplen." He ran to the next isle and there, he found a boy slightly taller than him with very light brown hair and ocean-blue eyes. He seemed to be searching for a book too.

"Peter?" his mother asked from behind him. "We'll leave you here to buy all your wizard books. The twins want to go somewhere else -they're bored." Under her breath she added, "_Not_ that I blame them." With that she turned around, motioned the others to follow her and with a tinkle of the entrance door, they were gone. Peter now turned to the other boy, who was looking at him with interest.

"Your family?" he asked, smiling.

"Y-yeah," Peter stammered. Then, choosing to ignore the boy, he turned to face the bookshelf and started to look for _Charmy Charms. _

"This what you're looking for?" the boy spoke once more. He held up a copy of _Charmy Charms. _"Cause, if it is, they're over here." He said, gesturing to the shelf in front of him.

"Th-thanks," Peter said and walked over to the shelf.

"What's your name?" the boy said.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"I'm Remus Lupin, nice to meet you."

Smiling, they both shook hands, Peter's face not even quivering.


	3. The Journey

****

CHAPTER THREE

~The Journey~

James Potter

On September the first, James and his parents travelled to King's Cross Station, James finding it very difficult to keep still. He was about to go to Wizardry School and he'd already made a friend. He and Sirius had planned to meet up in Platforms nine and three quarters. Once he had gotten out of the car, James wheeled his trolley around and burst through the apparently solid barrier to the hidden platform. His face broke into a wide smile as he spotted Sirius with his brother and mother. 

"Sirius!" he called waving his arms madly. Sirius turned and waved back. James pushed his trolley over to him, his parents following at his heels. "Figured out how we're going to get these trunks into the train yet?" he asked once he was by Sirius's side.

"Um, push them?" Sirius answered, looking at James weirdly. "Isn't that obvious?"

"No!" James said, then, "Well, yes…but another way? Without us breaking into a sweat?"

"Oooh! _That's _what you mean," Sirius exclaimed dramatically, nodding his head slowly. "Why didn't you say so? I don't have answer for that one, sorry."

"Don't worry, dear," Mrs Potter said from behind James, "we'll just make them lighter." 

"What?" said James. "Take stuff out of it you mean, mum?"

"No, silly. A charm."

"Oooh!"

"Yes," Mr Potter said, "finally he gets it." He winked at the Blacks and laughed. Mrs Potter took out her wand, gave it a small swish and muttered, _"Fulgere,"_ and James's trunk glowed yellow then became normal again except for the fact that it was floating. "There we go, honey!"

"Thanks, mum," James said pulling his trunk and loading it onto the train. "C'mon Sirius! We haven't got much time left."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming."

Once their trunks were safely in, James and Sirius hopped out and said their goodbyes. Mrs Black looked quite sad to see her son go. "Do take care, won't you, Sirius?" she said, wiping her eyes on a hanky. "And don't play any pranks. Be a good boy."

"Yes mum. I'll be a_ good boy_."

"I mean it Sirius."

"Okay, okay, keep your knickers on."

__

"Excuse me young man?" 

"Nothing, nothing…"

* * * 

****

Severus Snape

Severus walked through the enchanted barrier looking sour. He wouldn't have looked so angry if his mother and father escorted him to the Hogwart's Express, but they hadn't even bothered. They just apparated without even saying goodbye. 

Severus looked around the Platform. Then turning to his trunk, he said, _"Mobilicorpus,"_ and his trunk rose slowly and started to float behind him as though someone invisible was holding it up, and following him. 

He reached the train door where a short, fat boy was helping another boy with his trunk. _Oh, hurry up. _Severus impatiently thought to himself, watching the two boys heave.

"Nearly there, Remus," said the fat boy.

"One more heave," panted the brown-haired boy.

"Heave!" they cried together and the trunk slid inside. The two boys swapped high fives, grinning as though they had won some type of competition. _Pathetic. _Severus thought. He ran one slender hand through his greasy black hair, making sure it was still perfect. Finding out that it was, he smiled. 

Then he spotted her.

She was the most beautiful girl Severus had ever seen. She had amazing emerald green eyes that shone whenever she smiled; her dark red hair was wavy and landed elegantly just above her waist. She had the most beautiful smile too, for whenever she smiled, her straight, white, perfect teeth gleamed. 

The girl turned and their eyes locked for one second. Severus looked away and shook his head vigorously trying to clear the girl's face away from his mind.

* * *

****

Remus Lupin

"Seems like all the compartments are full," Remus said to Peter.

"I knew we shouldn't have taken so long with that trunk," Peter sounded worried.

"Oh, wait," Remus had just found out that there was one more compartment at the very end where only two boys sat, talking to each other. He knocked on the door to get their attention. They looked at him.

"Erm, mind if we sit here?" Remus asked, trying his best to sound polite. "Everywhere else is taken."

"Sure," the boy with the glasses answered, nodding.

Peter and Remus sat down opposite the two boys. There was a pause only to be broken by another knock on the compartment door. Remus swung his head and found a pale faced boy looking nervously down at them. He recognised it as the boy who had been waiting behind them when they were trying to drag the trunk into the train. "Yes?" he said.

"Can I sit here?" the boy grunted, not even looking at them. _He looks friendly. _Remus thought sarcastically to himself.

"Sure, we always have room for one more," the boy with the glasses said cheerfully. 

* * * 

"I'm James Potter, by the way," James said. "We might as well introduce ourselves now we're all here." He smiled.

"Sirius Black, at everyone's service."

"Remus Lupin."

"P-Peter Pettigrew."

"Severus Snape."

After that, everyone seemed quiet for a while. Sirius, in particular, was never a big fan of awkward pauses. Deciding to break the silence, he said, "I want to be in Gryffindor."

"Huh?" Peter said, looking from one boy to the other, his face confused. Perhaps his brain too.

"Slytherin is where I want to be," Severus said in a calm, icy voice. "Everyone from my family was in Slytherin and it would bring shame to the family if I wasn't one."

Peter still looked confused.

"Gryffindor sounds the best though …" Remus said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. Severus shot him at angry glare.

"If I ever do become a Slytherin, I'll show you all that it's the best house in the whole of Hogwarts."

"No chance, mate," Sirius said, glaring back at Severus. "Lions over snakes."

"Gryffindor for the Cup … woohoo!" James cried suddenly that everyone jumped. Then the compartment door opened and three girls stood on the doorway.

"Hi," the middle one said. Severus recognised her as the girl who he saw earlier. "I'm Lily Evans and these are my friends, Paige and Felice," she said, gesturing to the girls either side of her. One of them – Felice – had blonde, curly hair that sat perfectly on her shoulders; she also had hazel coloured eyes. Paige on the other hand, had dark mahogany hair that came up to her chin and her blue eyes were warm … quite similar to Remus's.

"Er … hi?" James said looking puzzled. "Is there anything we can do for you ladies?"

Lily answered him, "No, we just wanted to meet everyone before we actually get to Hogwarts. But we might get going now, we still need to change into our robes." And with a brief smile at the five, goggling boys, the three girls turned and left.

"I like the blonde one," Sirius said, still looking at the door. The others except Severus laughed. He liked to keep his face grim and expressionless.

"I don't know …" Remus said, smiling slowly, "I think the dark haired one looked kinda cute." 

"Well, the red head's for me," said James. "How about you Peter?"

"Um … I'm too young for girls," Peter muttered staring determinedly at the floor.

"The train is slowing down," Severus said suddenly.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"I said the train is slowing down," snapped Severus.

"Alright, alright, I was only asking."

The Hogwarts Express certainly did seem to be slowing down. Remus, Peter, James, Sirius and Severus stood up, grabbed the remaining bits of rubbish they had left and made their way to the exit door. The sign nearby told them that they were in Hogsmeade Station. A deep, loud voice boomed over the top of the excited babbles, "Firs' years, this way!" it said. And so the first years followed the giant silhouette of the man, shivering once in a while whenever a cold gust of wind hit them. After a few minutes walking, an astonishing sight met their eyes. It was the splendid castle of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	4. Classes

****

CHAPTER FOUR

~Classes~

Severus Snape

They had arrived at the warm and very large Great Hall where the first years stood in a shivering bunch, all looking around, both nervous and excited. Severus especially couldn't wait for the Sorting – he'll show that Potter and his stupid friends that Slytherin really _is _the best house at Hogwarts. He had heard all about the Sorting of course. There, he saw the patched and really old hat, which people say used to belong to Godric Gryffindor himself. It sat on a three-legged stool, waiting very quietly. 

A teacher of about the age of thirty approached the Sorting Hat and called names off a roll of parchment. There came that Paige girl, looking confident and smiled at everyone before she sat on the stool and placed the Hat over her head. A moment's pause, and then, "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted. Felice also went to Gryffindor, who joined her other friend at the table and started talking at once, not even looking back at the Sorting. Then came Lily Evans. 

She walked up to the stool gracefully – to Severus – took the Hat and placed it carefully on her pretty head, without even damaging the perfect style of her vivid red hair. _Please be in Slytherin, please be in Slytherin, _Severus found himself wishing as he watched the Hat. To his very disappointment, she had been placed in Gryffindor. The next following students - which were Sirius, Remus, Peter and James – all went to Gryffindor as well. Severus watched with a mixture of jealousy and anger as James sat down next to Lily, a smile pasted on his face, and engaged her in a conversation. Oh, how Severus felt the urge to walk up there and bash Potter up. 

"Snape, Severus!" Professor McGonagall called. It was his turn next. He walked bravely up and shoved the Hat on his greasy head, thinking at once, _I'm a Slytherin, I'm a Slytherin, _and the Hat replied in his ear, _Yes I know you are, _and shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" for the whole Hall to hear.

* * *

****

James Potter

All through the rest of the feast, James didn't stop talking to Lily. He was growing quite fond of her already, though she did seem to be annoyed. James could tell that she was itching to go back to have some girly chat with Felice and Paige but James just didn't shut up. He knew Lily was too nice to stop to talking to him. Or so he thought.

"…and I'm the only child in my family," James said, while scooping a large amount of pie into his mouth. "It's quite good really, because you kind of get spoilt –"

"Um, excuse me, James?" Lily interrupted. "Is it alright if I just have a bit of a chat with my friends?"

"No," answered James in a joking-kind-of-way. Unfortunately, Lily took it the wrong way.

__

"Excuse me?" she fumed. "And since when were you allowed to tell me what I can and can't do?" With that, she stood up, walked to her friends and sat down with them, not ever looking at James again.

James sighed and turned back to his pie. "Women," Sirius sighed, tut-tutting. "You can never understand them."

* * *

****

Lily Evans

"I can't believe he told me not to talk to you guys," Lily said, shaking her head, her cheeks red from anger.

"Ah, Lily?" came the soft voice of Felice. "I think he was joking."

"What?" Lily's head turned sharply towards Felice.

"I think he was only joking," she repeated.

"How do you know that?"

"Because we just know," said Paige.

"No," Lily said, "it's because you were eavesdropping."

"Lily!" cried Felice with mock outrage. "We would _never _do that to you! You know that!" Paige giggled and so did Lily.

"Well, maybe he was only joking … I don't know."

* * *

****

Remus Lupin

Remus woke up the next morning to the sounds of birds happily chirping outside his window. Today was their first day at school and today, they were starting their classes. He got up, pulled the curtains of his four-poster apart and looked at the other beds around him. All of them seemed asleep to him. Well, everyone except –

"Morning, Remus!" James said, giving Remus a friendly pat on the back. "How about going to breakfast, eh? My stomach's a bit hungry." At these words, James's stomach growled – sounding quite like an angry tiger.

"A _bit _hungry?" Remus's eyebrows shot up and they both laughed. "Actually, yeah, I think it's a good idea to go down now since we only have a few minutes left before we start our first lesson."

Once they had both reached the Great Hall, the owls swooped in, giving everyone their letters. Not soon after, Sirius and Peter arrived at the Great Hall and started to eat. 

Their first lesson was Charms with the Slytherins. Then it was Potions with Slytherin … and after that it was Flying Lessons with Slytherin. Sirius groaned.

"_Why_ does my first day have to wrecked so _soon?_" he cried, banging his class schedule sheet on the table. Remus privately agreed with him.

* * *

****

Peter Pettigrew

Everyone else felt mad or otherwise nervous to be starting their first lessons today … and it made them even angrier that they were spending it with the Slytherins. But Peter wasn't _mad _nor was he _nervous. _No, he was _scared_. Very first day and he was going to make an absolute fool of himself. Not only that, but he got to ride a broomstick too! _Oh joy, _he thought sadly to himself. He never was much of a flyer. And he never wanted to be one either.

Right, first lesson: Charms. He trudged along behind James, Remus and Sirius, keeping his thoughts to himself. Every once in a while, he would nervously look up to check that he hadn't lost them. The four arrived before the Charms door where everyone including the Slytherins were waiting. Three pairs of footsteps stopped behind them and Peter whirled around, facing the three Gryffindor girls.

"Hello, Lily-Pilly-Bum!" came James's teasing voice. Lily's pretty features turned red with sudden anger.

"Lily _what _did you call me?" she said coldly, looking murderous.

"Er – Lily-Pilly-Bum?" repeated James.

"How dare you!" Lily shrieked, ready to lunge at James. Luckily, at that very moment, a tiny little wizard by the name of Professor Flitwick arrived, breaking up the hysterical laughter that had started.

Charms was hard work, especially when you were paired up with a Slytherin who despised you. Peter was working alongside a skinny-as-a-stick boy names Lucius Malfoy. To Peter, he looked extremely similar to Severus, except that Lucius had blond hair. But both of their hair were greasy. James was paired up with Snape to both boys' disgust. Sirius with a very fat boy who seemed to be good friends with Lucius. His name was Vander Crabbe and his best friend's name being Gaston Goyle was with Remus. Lily Evans was working with a smug girl called Narcissa Serpent who looked like she was always in the mood for a fight. Felice and Paige (unbelieving their luck) got paired up together as a result from their giving puppy-dog eyes to Professor Flitwick who looked terrified and at once gave in.

Learning how to make a feather fly wasn't all that easy either. Peter tried his hardest but his hardest might as well be the size of an ant because it certainly wasn't working. He screamed, prodded and nearly cried in desperation at his feather but it didn't move an inch. Lucius, who was yawning pathetically, pushed Peter aside, pointed his wand at the piece of white fluff and yelled "Wingardium Leviosa!". 

Everyone gasped as a whole table shot off the floor and smashed the ceiling, showering the whole class with grey dust and chunks of cement. Lucius panicked at his spell's turn-out, lost control of the table which went rocketing straight back down, ready to flatten whoever was under it. Unfortunately enough, it happened to be Professor Flitwick.

Peter, who was cowering in one of the classroom's corners, ran alongside James (who was crying with laughter) as everyone crowded around the squashed Professor. The excitement wasn't over yet. For a split second, there was a muffled cry and then the whole table exploded with a quick burst of flames which at once vanished once its task was accomplished. As the smoke faded away and the coughing ceased, Professor Flitwick's high squeak was heard. 

"Lucius Malfoy … detention for a whole month!"

* * *

"That had to be the _best _class I have ever been to!" Sirius laughed as the four boys made their way down to the dungeons.

"That was the _only _class we've ever been to, Sirius!" James corrected.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Sirius waved a careless hand. The four boys all had wide grins pasted on their faces making them look like idiots without them realising it. Even Peter was smiling which was rare. 

Arriving at the cold dungeons situated at the very bottom of the castle, they found the class strictly put into two lines, all faces straight and a stern-looking wizard standing before them. Hearing their tip-toeing footsteps, he swivelled around and their eyes met his coal black ones. They seemed to be on fire the way he was looking at them.

"Hurry up!" he snapped through the tense silence, creating an eerie echo down the dark passageways. The four placed themselves at the very back of the line. The class marched in, nobody seeming to be daring enough to even whisper. They sat themselves carefully and quietly, James observing the excited glint in Snape's eyes. _What was so exciting about this?_ He wondered.

Then followed the most boring talk a teacher could ever give. James, Sirius, Peter and Remus's mind all began to wander around freely until the words "Now you shall all demonstrate to me the fine ways of making the Scaring Potion. If you fail, there is a punishment, and if you succeed in formulating the Potion properly … well, you shall receive something very pleasant indeed." It was the voice of Professor Ghassan. James smiled evilly, a plan instantly forming in his mind as he saw Snape looking hopeful. Remus looked ready to chew on his nails. Sirius looked like he was reading James's mind and was agreeing. Peter seemed like he was about to faint.

Without speaking, the class rummaged around their potion ingredients, looking for the right ones and preparing to use it. Severus was way ahead of everyone else, his hands working double the amount that was needed. In short, he was working like an expert.

James nodded to Sirius and Sirius nodded back, both looking like spies on a deadly mission to find out the world's biggest secret. Checking that the evil Professor was busy bullying someone else, James pointed his wand at Severus's bottle of bug juice, levitated it quietly and let it smash into tiny crystal pieces on the dungeon floor.

"SNAPE!" thundered Professor Ghassan. 

"S-sir," Severus trembled, creating stifled giggles among the watching Gryffindors. "I'll clean it up, s-sir …" 

"NOW!"

"Y-yes, sir …"

With that, he got up, grabbed some wet cloth and started wiping the drenched stone floor, looking like some poor house elf. When the last bit of excitement faded away and the class was busy with their potions again, Sirius did their second part of the plan.

Grabbing the wrong ingredient from his own bag purposely, he sprinkled it carefully over Severus's potion, all the while mixing it. Then he turned back, caught Felice's curious eyes and winked. She blushed, reluctantly winked back and flashed a smile. Lily who was sitting beside her huffed disagreeingly. 

The potion spat dangerously, covering the mopping Snape with a greenish-brown liquid which dropped from his oily hair to his hooked nose. A second later, the potion formed huge exploding bubbles. Then it went calm. Professor Ghassan, white in the face with fury, opened his mouth but before the yelling rushed out, Snape's cauldron gave an almighty burst of brightly coloured fireworks. One of the sparkling flames caught the Professor's inky hair, burning it until it was almost gone.

Everyone was yelling and screaming, running around wildly, trying to avoid the hazardous fireworks, some failing. A loud bang sounded and there was a giant shower of cool water, extinguishing the flaming heads. 

"Potter, Black, Snape! Go to my office right at this minute!" screamed Professor Ghassan, his face now beet red and half of his hair missing. Snape gave an angry cry and ran out of the classroom. James and Sirius laughed, their faces and hair undamaged. 

"STOP LAUGHING YOU TWO AND GET YOURSELVES _IN _MY OFFICE _RIGHT_ NOW OR GET OUT OF THIS SCHOOL!"

James leaned over to whisper in Sirius's ear. "Get ready for a splitting ear-ache!"


	5. Detention & Flying

****

CHAPTER FIVE

~Detentions and Flying~

Flying class was up next … something James was looking forward to most. The four marched down to the neat green lawns of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lily, Felice and Paige walking alongside them. Despite of the fact that James and Sirius had both received detentions with Snape meaning that they had to clean the boy's toilets that night, they were still all laughing merrily, an obvious bond starting between Sirius and Felice.

James's mouth dropped in awe at the sight of broomsticks lying ahead of them. Not all were perfect, in fact, most were over fifty years old – but as long as they could fly, there was nothing wrong with them. Well, maybe the slowness _was _something … but you get that. Peter gave an audible whimper.

"What's the matter, rat face? Scared of a pile of twigs?" sneered Lucius Malfoy, his fat cronies on either side of him. Snape's ears seemed to have twitched and heard this because he ran almost at once next to them.

"Bet I can get your sorry butt of that broom, Potter," he said icily, pointing to a very old model of a Comet Two Hundred.

"Bet you can't," James countered.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Lily muttered in James's ear. "Don't you _dare _do something stupid again James!"

"Stupid?" James said. "How can you call flying stupid? How can you call pushing Snape off a broom stupid? I'm gonna take him on."

"Oh, I don't think so Mr Potter. Not unless you would like to be expelled on your very first day." Came a sudden voice from behind the group. They all turned around, surprised, meeting the hawk-like eyes of Madam Hooch. "Now, I suggest you all behave yourselves or you shall end up with your necks broken for the rest of your lives." She walked off, telling the class to stand beside a broom.

First they had to learn how to hover. Sirius did it almost perfectly, his broom giving just the slightest quiver when his nerves nearly failed him. He screamed a very loud, "WOOHOO!" because he was so proud but this only resulted with Peter plummeting down and practically breaking every bone in his back. Snape slid off his broom first go, and he looked very funny indeed, clutching his broom desperately with one hand. Remus was still trying to get his to jump into his outstretched arm and the broom wasn't responding very well – only rolling over and over again. Lucius was perfect along with James. Lily was hugging her broom tightly in midair, anxious of falling off. Crabbe and Goyle didn't even know what the word "hover" meant.

Next came the "leading-your-brooms-the-right-way" part. Before Madam Hooch blows her silver whistle, she would say which direction she wanted the class to go. Then the class would point their stick that way, give the air a good push and then stop.

"Right everyone?" Madam Hooch yelled. "LEFT!"

The majority of the class sped in the left direction. But some were extremely dumb and actually went to the right, smashing into the person going the other way. A good example of this was Crabbe and Malfoy.

"What do you think you're doing?" Crabbe bellowed in anger as he came close to losing control of his broom.

"Going left!" yelled back Malfoy.

"But -!" Crabbe stopped, looked right then left, then right again, blushed and said, "Oh. Sorry. Silly mistake."

"Silly indeed," huffed Lucius, smoothing back his messed up blond hair.

* * * 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful seeing as their three lessons with the Slytherins were over and exciting things only happened when Slytherins were there. Lily found out an interesting fact about James Potter that day though: he excelled in both Transfiguration and Flying. Sometimes, she wondered why she was even thinking of James. He was stupid, ugly and stupid. Has she said that already?

Night came and the first years had their second dinner at the Great Hall. Everyone seemed tired and wiped-out from all the work they had done just in one day. But James, Sirius and Severus's work weren't over yet. They still had Professor Ghassan's detention.

Seven o'clock sharp, loud and thunderous footsteps accompanied by deafening laughs filled the halls and passageways of Hogwarts. The source of this of course, was James and Sirius. Severus scowled at the pair as they kept telling nonsense jokes to each other. How could Lily stand these two?

__

There it goes again. Severus noticed that that must have been the hundredth time he thought of her today. _You can't blame yourself, _said the "angel" in his head, _she's incredibly pretty._ Severus stroked his chin thoughtfully, thinking about these words. Then the "devil" came in: _She's a filthy mudblood! What do you think you're doing, having feelings for her?_ It screamed in his ear. Severus's eyes darkened. The "devil" was right. She _was _mudblood. And Snapes don't go for those low classes. 

A voice interrupted the argument he was having with himself.

"Right, you three." It was Professor Ghassan. "Mops, water, bucket, cloths. That's everything you'll be needing."

"What?" Snape yelled suddenly. "No magic? You've got to be kidding!"

"I do not make jokes of these situations, Mr Snape," Professor Ghassan's lips were in a thin line. "And if you ever decide to speak to me in that manner again young man, you may find yourself cleaning not only the boy's toilets but also the girls. Imagine the shame." Severus's cheeks reddened. Professor Ghassan turned to the other two. "You will go to bed at eleven o'clock – no later nor earlier. When I come and inspect your work tomorrow morning, and find that it is not satisfying enough, get yourselves ready for another punishment." Then the Professor added with a meaningful look at James and Sirius, "There is a certain spell that will enable me to tell if one of you have been using magic. So I suggest you do not dare to do anything as stupid." He turned around and walked away, his black cloak billowing behind him.

"Better get to work then," said James cheerfully. It didn't bother him nor Sirius that they had detention. In fact, James was thinking about getting used to this seeing as he and Sirius have already planned masses of trick and pranks that they could play on people.

They worked on for hours. James and Sirius never stopped talking, leaving Severus to think to himself. Just as his thoughts slowly came back to Lily again, freezing cold water striked him on the face. He heard the other two snort mischievously, obviously trying to hold in laughter. 

"Sorry Snape … an accident," came James's voice.

"Yeah," loud laugh. "An accident."

"You two better stop or you'll have more than a bucket of water thrown over your heads," Severus said threateningly.

"Bucket water?"

"No, no! That wasn't bucket water … was it Sirius?"

"No it wasn't."

"It wasn't?" Severus asked nervously. "What was it then?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"TELL ME NOW OR I'LL WRING YOUR BONY NECK POTTER!"

"Okay, he wants to know."

"Toilet water."

__

"WHAT?" Snape bellowed.

"Toilet water."

"BLACK!"

"What?"

"I'LL KILL YOU I SWEAR, I WILL!"

"It wasn't me! It was … James!"

"Sirius!"

"What?"

"Never mind."

James and Sirius ducked for cover as a Jelly Leg curse barely missed them. Severus looked similar to a skinny, raging rhinoceros when he was angry. Laughing, the pair broke into a run, dodging the following spells expertly. It was already eleven o'clock – the time they were allowed to finish.

"That," panted James, "had to be the funniest detention."

Sirius laughed. "We'll have many more my friend, many more."


	6. Bye Remus

****

CHAPTER SIX

~Bye Remus~

Next morning, James and Sirius still had grins pasted on their faces after both agreeing that Snape would be their main target for pranks. 

"I don't know why you would want to waste time on him," Remus frowned at the laughing pair. 

"Oh come on, Remus! You have to admit, it _is _funny seeing Snape turn red and looking like a winded rhinoceros," Sirius said.

"Yeah! Hey, you can even help us with this next trick we've planned …" James looked hopeful.

"Oh, no … no, I think I'll be 'right, thanks guys." Remus took a step backwards, away from the advancing two.

"Please?" Sirius fell down on his knees, doing a very dramatic (and very bad) act of a lovesick person. "Pretty please, Remsey? _Pleeeeeaasseee?_"

"Don't call me Remsey."

"Remsey, Remsey, Remsey, Remsey!"

"Stop it!"

"Not unless you help us –"

"All right, all right," Remus finally agreed, defeated. Then he added, "When do we start?"

Sirius and James both exchanged identical looks of mischief.

* * *

Grabbing a school owl, James, Sirius and Remus fought hard not to giggle. The red envelope in Remus's hand was going to give them so much laughter at breakfast. As soon as it was carefully strapped to the owl's leg, they sent it off, watching as it dove straight down, heading for the Great Hall.

The three skidded to a halt in front of the breakfast table where Peter was waiting sulkily for them.

"Where were you?" he asked. "I've been looking all over our common room but when I couldn't find you three, I went down here. I thought you'd already left for breakfast, but you weren't here either." He stopped, glancing at the three faces. That's when he realised they weren't even listening to him.

"Hello!? What is _up _with you all!?" he screamed. James put a finger in front of his mouth, hissing, "Shh!"

Peter frowned, his rare temper rising.

* * *

****

Severus Snape

As Severus pushed a spoonful of cereal into his dry mouth, a piece of paper hit him on the back of the head, causing him to choke on the milk and cornflakes. The paper dropped onto his lap.

It was red. And it scared him.

About to run out of the Hall, he stopped. Perhaps this wasn't what he thought it was. Opening it _very _slowly, a voice boomed out at him:

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU DID SEVERUS SNAPE! YOU MADE YOUR MUM PRACTICALLY FAINT WHEN WE GOT WIND OF THE FACT THAT YOU HAD A CRUSH ON SOME MUGGLE-BORN GIRL. THIS – THIS LILY EVANS … GET HER OUT OF YOUR MIND! YOU'RE INSANE, BOY, I TELL YOU. IF YOU HAVE FEELINGS FOR HER EVER AGAIN, EXPECT TO RECEIVE A GOOD BEATING UP WHEN YOU GET HOME!

The screaming stopped. Time stopped. Severus blinked. Had he heard right? Him, having feelings for … for who? _Lily Evans?! _That wasn't true! Wait … yes it was. Even though it was pain to think that his father was right, he –

He blinked again.

Something clicked in his mind. Dad? That wasn't his father. The didn't sound _one bit _like his father. In fact …

His black eyes searched the Gryffindor table. Sure enough, there was Potter and his friends, red from trying to keep in laughter, rolling around like pathetic fools.

By now he was aware of the laughing and pointing that had started. His gaze drew from Potter and landed on Lily. She had a mixture of pain and a disgusted look on her pretty face. _Now_ he had wrecked his chances with her. But, what was he thinking about? He never had a chance with her in the first place.

* * * 

"That was bloody funny!"

"God, yeah!"

"Best plan I've ever had, I'd say!"

"That wasn't _your_ plan Sirius," James said, turning to face him. "I came up with the idea of the howler."

"Yeah, and I came up with the absolutely-fabulously-wonderfully-brilliant idea of sending it to Snape."

"But _I _came up with the idea of saying something about him having a crush on Lily," Remus interjected.

"Good thing we did that, too … it made the whole trick even funnier."

"How come you guys didn't tell me anything about this?" Peter spoke up for the first time in a long time. "I never knew anything about it." He sounded and looked hurt.

"Awww come on Peter," said Sirius. "You were still in the land of dreams by the time we came up with the idea."

"Yeah, snoring your head off, you were."

"But –"

"Uh-uh, no buts little buddy," said James. "If you want to be part of it, you have to be ready."

"And awake," grinned Remus.

* * * 

The next morning, Peter woke up bright and early. Surprised that none of the others were awake yet, he snuck up to Remus's bed, took a deep breath and yelled, "WAKE UPPPPPPP!"

It seemed as though Remus jumped a mile. When he was safely back on his bed again, his heart beating a thousand times per second, he glared at the Peter (who was chuckling stupidly) and screamed, "_What the hell was that for!?_"

"Language Remus, language," came a mumble from Sirius's bed.

"What's going on?" James's head poked out from behind the velvet curtains. "Who yelled? Better yet, _why _did that person yell?!"

Remus pointed an accusing finger at Peter. "Ask him! Damn, I was having a good dream too …"

"Language Remus, language," Sirius said again.

"Shut up."

"Whoa, why the bad mood Remus?" said James, getting up and stretching.

"I _wonder_."

* * * 

Peter, James and Sirius mainly avoided talking to Remus at breakfast, seeing as his head was still hot from the early morning's events.

The mail arrived and a howler dropped on top of James's sausage. Muttering an "uh-oh", the others covered their ears as James yanked open the envelope.

"JAMES POTTER YOU STUPID FOOL. I DON'T EVEN LIKE LILY EVANS – SO WHAT WAS THAT HOWLER ABOUT? AND DON'T TRY TO PRETEND YOU'RE MY FATHER AGAIN BECAUSE YOU SUCK AT IT. OH, AND TELL YOUR EQUALLY STUPID FRIEND SIRIUS BLACK TO STOP FLIRTING WITH THAT FELICE PERSON."

Sirius's jaw dropped. "How – how dare he say that I've been – been _flirting!?_" he gasped. "Oooooh, I'll get back at you Severus Snape … you just watch your greasy head … I'll get back at you –"

"Excuse me?" a voice interrupted Sirius's death threats. It was Lily. Looking murderous. At James.

"What do you think you're doing, sending people howlers saying they like someone for the whole hall to hear?" she shrieked. "And involving _me._ Don't you people even consider people's feelings? Don't you even know how embarrassing this whole situation can be for a person!?" 

The shrieking continued for about five more minutes until Lily's voice grew croaky. With a last death look and cough, she turned around and stomped off, Paige by her side. Felice was eyeing Sirius curiously, obviously pleased at hearing he has been "flirting" with her.

"Are you gonna scream at us too?" Sirius asked, grinning. "'Cause, if you were, let me just grab some ear muffs."

Felice's face contorted and she too, stomped back to her friends.

* * *

"Remus," whispered James cautiously, in case Remus screamed at him, too.

"Speak up James, I can barely hear you." He was smiling so James took that as a good sign.

"Well, I assume you still haven't realised that you have a letter on your porridge."

"What?" Remus tore his eyes away at the retreating backs of the three girls. "Oh, no …" he picked up the slightly soggy envelope, whispered a drying spell and opened it. The first thing he noticed were the bold letters saying, "DON'T SHOW THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS."

Checking that Peter and Sirius were busy – arguing – and James was trying to take ash off his sausage (from the burnt howler), he read on:

_Dear Remus,_

Hi honey, this is mum. How are you? Hope that school is going fine and that mischief is being avoided [Remus rolled his eyes]. _Just wanted to remind you that the full moon is coming tonight. Now, Professor Dumbledore kindly owled me saying that all you have to do is go up to the hospital wing, tell Madame Pomfrey (I suppose she's your matron) that you're ready for transformation and she'll escort you to the Whomping Willow._

Don't worry about your friends, dear … just tell them you're off to see your sick auntie for a few days, until you get back. Mind you behave yourself and **don't go outside the tree. **

Take care,

Mum.

Remus's heart leaped. He had forgotten all about the full moon. Oh, how he hated having to transform every month, make up lame excuses on why he'll be away …

Silently, he cursed the werewolf that bit him long, long ago.

****

__


	7. Transformation

****

CHAPTER SEVEN

~Transformation~

Remus Lupin

That night, Remus had to approach Peter, Sirius and James to tell them his "lie" as he called it.

Sirius and James were busy whispering about their new pranks with Peter whining about how he wanted to be part of the next one. But when Remus came up to them with a solemn look on his face, the three stopped squabbling and stared at him. It was Sirius who spoke first.

"Remus, are you okay?" he sounded worried and this surprised Remus because he always knew Sirius as a joker.

"Yeah, yeah … I'm fine."

"No you're not," James said. "Sit down and tell your best buddies what's troublin' ya." He patted the chair next to him. Remus forced a laugh.

"Nah, I'm fine, really. It's just that – that my auntie's really ill and I have to leave for a few days and visit her with my family, that's all. I'm leaving tonight."

__

"Tonight?" Sirius blurted out.

"Yeah, it's really urgent." Remus shuffled on his feet. He didn't like lying to his friends at all. It made him feel uncomfortable and a … liar. Duh.

"What's she suffering from?" James's forehead was creased with worry. _Geez, I can't believe they care this much about my auntie who's not even sick. _Remus thought. Then realising that James had just asked an extremely hard question to answer, he stuttered.

"S-she … she's suffering from … from … um …"

Peter chuckled. "You sound like me."

Remus glared at him.

"Suffering from what?" Sirius pushed.

"Erm – werewolf bite." As soon as the words escaped, he wished that he hadn't said it. Remus winced, feeling guiltier than ever.

"Oh, that's _bad._"

"Never mind bad, that's _scary,_" Peter said.

"Yeah, imagine if you met her and she's all transformed and everything. I'd wet myself honestly."

"I wouldn't want to be bitten by a werewolf … no one'd probably ever like you again … imagine how hard that would be … everyone would think you're a freak …"

Remus swallowed. He couldn't take it any more. Even tears were springing up on his eyes. With a choked, "Gotta go, see you all later!" he ran out of the common room and headed straight for the hospital wing.

* * * 

When he reached the white doors of the infirmary, he found Madame Pomfrey impatiently waiting for him, watching as the seconds ticked by an old clock. 

She whispered "Follow me." and walked briskly towards the Entrance Hall. Remus caught a glimpse of the bright, illuminated colour of the full moon and shivered, despite the warm jumper he was wearing. He felt nervous. He kept remembering the pain he had to go through.

They stopped in front of a huge, violent tree, its thick branches swinging out at them protectively. Remus had to admit to himself that this would be a safe place for him to transform. No students could ever get past _this_ dangerous plant.

Madame Pomfrey silently reached for a long, narrow stick sitting a few metres away. She lied on her stomach, stretched out her podgy arms and the tip of the stick gently touched a knot. All at once, the tree froze, like some paused movie. Every tree, every leaf, every blade of grass were slowly swaying in the chilly breeze – everything except the Whomping Willow.

"Go on," Madame Pomfrey hissed, giving Remus a slight push towards a hole at the bottom of the giant trunk. "Go in … quickly … your time's running out …"

Remus crouched and crawled cat-like along the ground, scraping his knee on rough parts. Once he was inside, he heard the hurried whisper of the matron, "Just follow the tunnel … I'll be back for you in two days … stay there until it's safe, you hear me? _Don't come out._"

"Okay ," Remus whispered back. Then he added, "Thank you."

But she was already gone.

* * *

"Wonder if old Remus is all right?" Sirius wondered aloud.

"'Course he is," James answered.

"But he seemed to be in a hurry when he left … you know, just running off like that."

"Well, you heard him, he said it was urgent," Peter said.

"Oh well, lucky him."

"Lucky?"

"Yeah," said Sirius. "He gets to miss out on school."

"And miss out on the fun?" James smirked.

"Hmm … that's a good point."

Suddenly, the three jumped as a loud, eerie howling filled their ears. The others in the common room looked up as well, bright eyes widening with amusement.

"I bet it's a werewolf!" cried a third year.

"Don't be stupid … there're no werewolves in Hogwarts … are there?" another said.

"Probably is, actually," a seventh year answered knowingly. "There's a full moon tonight and everyone knows werewolves only transform whenever there's a full moon."

All heads turned towards the open window, gazing out at the sky as the transparent curtain flapped noiselessly with the breeze. Then a silent shiver spread among the Gryffindors.

"I'm going to bed," cried a fifth year boy, jumping up and running quickly towards their dormitory. Ten people followed him, all seeking the warmth of their beds where they would all feel safe. Peter turned to Sirius and James.

"Y-you don't think that … that was a werewolf … d-do you?" he looked ready to cry.

"You're stuttering again," Sirius observed.

"S-so?" Peter snapped.

"You're scared!"

"No … no I'm not!"

"Nothing to be ashamed of little pal … everyone gets scared once in a while," said James, grinning.

"But I'm not –"

"Yes you are so shut up or I'll hex you," threatened Sirius.

"But -!" 

"Uh uh uh," James said, waving a finger at Peter. "You don't want your ears enlarged ten times the size it is now … do you?"

Peter scowled. _I never get a say._ He thought bitterly to himself. _Not even for pranks._

* * * 

"Okay, so here's the plan," Sirius said importantly as he began to whisper to Peter and James. They had an all-new prank planned out and ready to play the next morning. It had taken them quite a while to master the Summoning Charm seeing as it was a bit advanced for first years. The only person who could've probably done it with ease was Lily Evans – she was the expert in Charms.

Once Sirius had finished talking, the three went off to their planned positions. Sirius entered the Great Hall with its usual food-filled tables. Checking that Snape was there, he gave the sign to James who was standing outside, watching him.

Seeing the sign, James quickly ran to the broom shed, snatched a broom that looked good enough and flew towards the Slytherin common room window. He never noticed that he had passed Professor McGonagall's office, which sent the Professor herself to see what he was up to.

Once James saw the first year boy's dormitory, he pointed his wand at Snape's trunk, opened it with a spell and said, "_Accio underwear!_" Pieces of white briefs came floating merrily out, dancing gaily in the air. He sent them out the window, towards the Great Hall.

Before he sent the underwear flying into the Great Hall and above the eating heads, he searched for Peter, gave the sign and waited.

Peter walked past the Slytherin table and pretended to accidentally slap Snape on the back (but really sticking a piece of paper on there). Severus turned angrily around but Peter had already walked away and given James another sign.

James directed the underwear into the Great Hall and there was a sudden rush of laughter and pointing, bewildered and disgusted faces, mad and confused expressions for the teachers.

Snape, who realised that they were his, panicked. But he wasn't about to let the whole school know that that was _his _underwear. No way in the world! Instead, he got up and crept towards the exit. To his horror, all heads turned towards him and the pointing was redirected from his underwear to his back.

"Better watch your undies more carefully next time, Snape!" Lucius Malfoy gleefully called out to him. Just then, a hand touched Severus's back and a piece of paper felt out of nowhere with the words: IF YOU HAPPEN TO SEE MY UNDIES, PLEASE KINDLY GIVE THEM BACK.

The Hall was filled with even louder laughter (if that was possible) and Severus picked up the piece of paper, banished the floating underwear and ran outside, feeling deeply humiliated.

* * *

Lily was laughing loudly along with the other students (to the surprise of Felice and Paige who normally considered their friend as a goody-goody). Lily _did_ think that it was a bit cruel to play a trick on someone but she began to think that it was time she took things a little less seriously. God, did she make the right decision. This was hilarious!

Well, it _was _extremely funny until Snape banished the underwear and one piece dropped on her red head, half covering her face. Lily screamed with horror while the Paige and Felice screamed with laughter.

"Get it off me! Get it off me!" Lily shrieked, thinking that his was not funny any more. Using her forefinger and thumb, she threw the white thing off which landed on someone's toast.

James Potter approached her. "Was that funny or what?" he cried, his eyes shining with tears from laughing too much.

"_Well, _it _was _funny at first but –" Lily was cut off, seeing the disagreeing face of Professors McGonagall and Ghassan. Sirius and Peter came running up to James but once behind him, they stopped abruptly, not daring to look up to the fierce eyes of the Professors.

"Come with me Potter, Black, Pettigrew," said Professor McGonagall while Professor Ghassan grinned nastily. "In my office. Now."

The three slouched off with her, their backs hunched, but still grinning widely.


	8. Deepest Desires

****

CHAPTER EIGHT

~Deepest Desires~

Severus Snape

Severus dashed inside one of the boys' toilets cubicles and sat down on the seat, unable to control his breathless puffing. As he blinked his eyes furiously to fight away the tears that had crept up, he ran his shaking hands through his hair, messing it up even more. He put his hands to his face and felt that it was icy cold.

Why? Why did this always happen to him? Why was he always the one to be picked on? It wasn't fair. Potter and his stupid friends didn't know what it was like to feel like this – embarrassed and angry. Not to mention loneliness. Everybody liked them, everybody thought they were amusingly funny, everyone thought they were geniuses. But no one liked him. No one even bothered to understand his own emotions. So what if some first year with greasy hair got laughed at by the school? They didn't even care … after all, it wasn't their feelings that were being hurt.

His mental and physical restraint on his tears were unhelpful. They rushed out anyway. Severus stayed in that cubicle for so long, he lost track of time. As his sobbing lessened, he heard pairs of footsteps walking along the tiled floor of the toilets. Then a voice.

" … I can't wait for something like that to happen again. It's incredibly funny when it especially happens to Severus. See his face? Ah, it was a priceless moment." Severus recognised it as Lucius Malfoy's voice.

Two other students chuckled at this remark. He assumed that this must be Crabbe and Goyle.

"The poor guy though, he's such a loner. Nobody really likes him do they?" A pause. "Well, I've never seen anyone even come up and talk to him. But I don't blame them – he's so anti-social."

Severus felt the heat rise to his face. After hearing the sound of water running, then the taps being turned off, the footsteps and nasty comments finally died down and Severus was able to come out of his hiding spot. Glancing at his awful reflection on the ancient mirror, he saw that his face was sallow and colourless.

He was the only one that felt sorry for himself.

* * * 

Halloween arrived early one morning and the Gryffindors woke up to the sound of … well, the usual chirping of birds – nothing special. James saw the giant outside the castle, dragging an enormous deep green Christmas tree. Suddenly, an idea clicked in his head, like always. But this time, it wasn't actually something that had to do with pranks.

"Hey, what do you say we give the gamekeeper a visit today?" he asked the others.

"Aw, c'mon, James. I thought it was only Snape that we would pick on … the gamekeeper hasn't done anything to us!"

"What are you talking about?" James asked, scratching his head. "I wasn't saying that we pull a trick on him!"

"Oh."

"Am I that mean?" James frowned.

"Well, it depends …"

"Shut up, Sirius." James said and Sirius laughed. "So what do you think? I reckon he'd be worth meeting, seems like a nice kind of guy."

"You're sure he's not … dangerous?" Remus asked uncertainly.

"Dangerous?" James repeated.

"Yeah, well he looks sort of savage, don't you think?"

"No."

"Well, he does to me."

"He doesn't have to look nice to be nice!" James cried, waving his hands. "I mean, just take Peter for example -" Peter stopped eating and looked up. "- he's not exactly good looking but he's pretty harmless, ain't he?"

Remus laughed along with Sirius while Peter scowled.

"Don't take it too seriously now, Peter," said James. "Anyway, back to this – this person-gamekeeper-thing, we could go down to his hut – I heard that's where he lived – and we could meet him there."

The others looked hesitant but James urged them and in the end, they gave up and agreed.

* * *

The four ran down the neat lawns of the school to where the giant lived. Only James looked the most excited of the lot. Remus and Sirius didn't give away any expression at all, but Peter looked terrified of meeting someone at least five times bigger than he was.

James knocked three times on the hard wooden door and they waited with held breaths. What if he really _was _dangerous?

The door opened a tad and an extremely large and shaggy face appeared between the gap. The four gave loud gasps as the giant growled, "Anythin' I can do for yeh lads?"

James cleared his throat and quite bravely said, "I'm James Potter and this is Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. We're first years at school and I don't know if you remember us or not but when we arrived here, you brought us to the boats and we kinda sailed across the lake with you. We thought that it was a tremendously fine day today to meet another staff of the school and that's –" James was interrupted by a sharp jab on his rib that came from Sirius.

"You don't have to say a speech!" he whispered.

James's cheeks reddened and he looked up to the giant's face which, to his surprise, was crinkled in a warm smile. He opened the door wider and they were able to see bits and pieces of what the small house contained. The giant extended his large hand.

"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But you can call me Hagrid, tha's what everyone does." He smiled yet again. "It's me own, famous speech."

The four laughed nervously but they were starting to realise that maybe this giant – Hagrid – was not as bad as they thought he would be.

"Care to have a cup o' tea? I was jus' makin' one meself, but it'd be no trouble ter make four more," he said. So James, Sirius, Remus and Peter walked awkwardly inside the hut and the first thing they noticed was a massive package standing in one corner of the hut. It was so big that it was just the right size – the tip of the … whatever it was … was just touching the roof.

Hagrid must've noticed them staring at it because he said, "Ah, I still have ter deliver that ter Professor Dumbledore. Picked it up this mornin' from Gringotts … trusts me see, the Professor does. Gets me ter fetch him the most important things." Hagrid beamed with pride.

"But Hagrid, what is it?" asked Remus, still staring at the package.

"It's a mirror," Hagrid answered. This wasn't the answer the four were expecting.

"A mirror? What's so important about a mirror?" asked James.

"Well, er, s'matter o' fact, I dunno." Hagrid muttered.

"Can we have a look then?"

"S'pose it wouldn' hur'," agreed Hagrid. 

Carefully, he stripped the brown paper off the object and set it aside. When the thing was completely visible, everyone gaped at it, admiring its smooth, flawless glass and its complex and delicate golden frame in which the words: _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi _were engraved in fancy writing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter wondered aloud once they had closed their open, gaping mouths. 

"What's what supposed to mean?"

"The writing – there – on top."

"Ah, I wouldn't have a clue."

"Looks ter me like some kind'o old language or summat," said Hagrid, scratching his wild beard.

"Wonder what it means … " said Remus, walking closer to the mirror so that he was the one on the very front. Suddenly he gasped.

* * *

****

Remus Lupin

Remus's head snapped up to the ceiling as his eyes widened even more at the sight in the mirror. For not only did he see his regular eleven-year-old self, but just above his head hung the bright, circular shape of the full moon, radiant and shimmering, just visible behind the dark clouds surrounding it. 

Suddenly Remus grew scared. The full moon! How could it be? It only showed up two days ago. How can it appear twice in a month in less than three days? 

His instincts told him to crouch and hide his face underneath his arms like he always does just before he transforms. He waited for the hairs on the back of his neck to grow longer; for his mouth to morph into the snout he had grown to hate so much; for his nails to become deadly sharp … after a while of feeling nothing, Remus looked up and saw that everyone was eyeing him rather weirdly.

"Remus?" said James. "Are you okay?"

Remus gave a momentary look at the enchanted mirror once more. There he was again, but this time he was crouching, just like his real self. He stood up carefully and so did his mirror-self. He didn't understand. There was the full moon, but why wasn't he transformed yet? Slowly, he smiled. This mirror could tell the future! He knew it!

Remus turned back to the others, the grin still on his face.

* * *

****

Peter Pettigrew

"What happened to yeh?" asked Hagrid, glancing worriedly at Remus. "Yeh looked like someone was about to hurt yeh or sumthin'."

"I'm fine Hagrid, believe me," replied Remus, looking very happy.

"If yeh say so …"

Peter nervously walked up to the mirror. Usually, he disliked mirrors because he couldn't stand his own reflection which usually showed a fat boy with really thin hair and watery eyes. But there was something strange about this particular piece of framed glass that drew his attention.

As he looked in the mirror, he saw a strange reflection. It was the picture of two identical marble stone pillars, one beside the other, and on the side of one of them was a fine drawing of a small rat etched on the surface of the solid stone. On the other pillar however, was not a picture of a matching rat but an illustration of a proud stag, its antlers held high in the air. As Peter watched, not daring to blink in case he missed anything, the pillar in which the stag was carved into started to fall apart. 

The column crumbled, the picture of the stag which was situated at the very top of the pillar was reaching the floor at a shocking rate. Peter's eyes never left the mirror. As the cloud of dust and debris faded away and landed on the ground, Peter saw that only the fragment which contained the stag remained lying at the foot of the other stone pillar.

The reflection suddenly moved and the image was rapidly twisting into another scene in a whirl of dark colours. And Peter saw the same rat as before, only this time it was real and alive, accompanied with a bowing stag. The huge creature was bent on one knee; it seemed to be showing the utmost respect for the puny little creature.

Peter felt a funny feeling in his stomach. At that very moment, his heart had a sudden desperate desire, wanting nothing else but power.

* * * 

"Are you okay too, Peter? You look a bit strange," said Sirius.

Peter turned his face to him.

"Wipe that odd look off your face, please, you're scaring me."

"This is no ordinary mirror," whispered Peter.

"We've noticed. Remus has already told us that it doesn't show the same old reflections," explained James. "He saw something that seemed to bring good news, eh, Remsey?"

Remus looked uncomfortable as everyone's eyes turned on him.

"Erm … yeah …"

"What did you see?" Peter asked eagerly.

"I – I saw … I saw my auntie getting better from her, um, werewolf bite," he lied.

"That's excellent!"

"Ye're auntie got bitten by a werewolf?" said Hagrid.

"Y-yeah … ages ago … must be about thirty years now."

"Beau'iful creatures I say," said Hagrid hoarsely. "Everybody hates 'em though, don't understand why …"

"But, Hagrid, they _bite_," cried Sirius, looking disbelieving.

"So? Don't mean they're not fascinating. Werewolves are one o' the most misunderstood creatures! People take one look at them, scream like a banshee and go runnin' off somewhere."

"I don't blame them," muttered Remus. No one heard him.

"So, Peter, tell us what _you_ saw."

"I don't know it was really weird though. Okay, there were these two pillars right …" Peter explained about the extraordinary image that his reflection showed. He was very proud of what he saw, but of course, he had no idea what it meant. Neither did any of the others.

"It's my turn to look in now!" exclaimed Sirius running to look at the mirror.

* * * 

****

Sirius Black

Sirius elbowed the others out of the way in his excitement. As they all grunted in disapproval, he gaped at the image before him. 

It showed himself, tall and gangly, black hair and all, with his mother's slim arms wrapped around him. In front of him sat his laughing brother Jamiel, looking like a younger version of himself and next to his mother stood – 

Sirius blinked. Who _was_ that man? Sirius needn't have asked this question to himself … he knew who this man was … it was his father. It _had _to be. 

At that moment, Sirius's heart skipped a beat. His whole body was filled with such a strong emotion he had never felt before and all he wanted right at that very second, was a complete family. For his father to be alive, to be with them.

He had never met his father. He died a couple of days just as Sirius was born, leaving his mother to fend for both Sirius and Jamiel. Teodor Black was murdered. His killer still remains unidentified and Sirius longed to find out who did this merciless act. His father's body had been found near some forestry, his face a skeletal white, his blank eyes wide open and timorous. 

His mother had never wanted to discuss the subject of his father's death and he didn't blame her. It was only one day when Sirius had been playing hide and seek with his brother that he found a particular hiding spot in his mother's wardrobe that he stumbled across the newspaper cuttings. Moving black and white pictures revealed the discovery of Teodor's rigid body. Informative text surrounded the tragic scene … text that told Sirius everything he needed to know about his father's death … everything but who its killer was.

After his encounter with the cuttings, Sirius had tried desperately to obscure the horrible images from his mind as they brought nightmares each and every single night. Much to his dismay, they still stayed in his mind, fresh as ever.

* * *

****

James Potter

Sirius stayed in front of the mirror, staring at it with an expression of hunger and longingness printed on his face. _What could he see? _James wondered. He tapped Sirius carefully on the shoulder and Sirius turned abruptly, clearly surprised. His eyes were large and he looked slightly teary.

James opened his mouth to ask what he had seen but Sirius cut in. "You're next, James." And with that Sirius walked out of the cabin, oblivious to the fact that everyone was looking at him strangely.

James took a tentative step towards the mirror. Surely what he was about to see couldn't be as bad as what Sirius saw. But as James got closer and closer to the glass, a girl's pretty face loomed into view and he realised instantly who it was.

Lily Evans.

_What? _James screamed inside his head. _What's Lily got to do with anything? _Though as James continued to stare at the face, he started to notice her infinite beauty, the flawless texture to her golden skin, the – 

James stopped. The mirror showed not only her face but his as well. As James continued to watch, his mirror-self gave Lily a kiss, square on her crimson lips.

James couldn't take it any more. He screamed and jumped back, surprised at what he just witnessed. Him kissing that stuck-up, too-smart-for-anyone girl! That was impossible! Whatever Remus said about the mirror telling the future was _so _a lie. But if what Remus said wasn't true, then what did this mirror predict or tell?


	9. The Giant's Family

****

CHAPTER NINE  
~ The Giant's Family ~ 

Lily Evans

__

"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun. Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon that is already sick and pale with grief. That thou her maid art far more fair than she. Be not her maid since she is envious, her vestal livery is but sick and green and none but fools do wear it …"

Lily sighed as she turned the page of the old book. She had decided to spend some valuable time by herself out on the school grounds, sitting by the lakeside under a shady and peaceful tree. She had to admit to herself, that this was an extremely delightful place to relax and unwind. _Romeo and Juliet _was one of her most favourite stories and though she has read her own copy approximately twelve times, the romantic love tale still brought tears to her eyes, sending a fuzzy warm feeling in her stomach. Personally, she thought it was a crazy thing to do, killing one's self just because a person they liked had died. As if you would do that! 

__

But I guess, she thought with a shrug, _I _am _only eleven. I wouldn't have a single clue about loving anyone at this point in time. _Just as she started getting engrossed in Romeo's chimerical and romantic lines once more, she received a blow on her back that sent her face forward onto the ground. A couple of squeals and laughter followed and Lily sat up raged, spitting bits of grass.

"Can't you two _ever _say hello in a much more … quieter … nicer … _gentler _way?" she said.

Paige and Felice looked at her with innocent eyes. Felice snorted, unable to keep in her laughter and Paige followed. Both were doubled on the ground, laughing as though they had just seen the funniest comedy show ever to be presented. Felice's curly locks were in a tragic mess and Paige's blue eyes were brimming with tears from so much laughter.

"Oh I don't believe you two!" Lily cried. "You knock the wind out of me one moment and the next you're laughing you're head off!" The pair took one look at her, drew in their breaths and kept laughing. "Someone explain to me _what _is so funny?"

Paige, tears streaming down her face, gasped and pointed at Lily. Then she asked, "Did we really – _laughs – _hit you that hard?"

"Can't you tell?" Lily said. "Now tell me what you two lunatics are laughing at!"

Felice hiccuped, and, mimicking Paige, pointed at Lily. "Teeth … _grass …_" and she continued to laugh.

Totally bewildered, Lily ran her tongue along the surface of her teeth. It was smooth and normal until she felt a bump. An unpleasant taste reached her tongue and Lily spat again, now running a fingernail along the groove between her teeth to rid of the blade of grass.

Lily smiled, surprising not only herself but Paige and Felice as well.

"I can't believe it! Lily Evans – _the _Lily Evans – actually smiled - !" said Paige

" – right after finding out that she had grass in her mouth." Felice continued, acting as usual as if she was Paige's twin.

"Nah, I just remembered this time when I got tricked into eating a Bertie Botts Bean, grass of course." Lily explained. "My sister and I were trying them when we came back from Diagon Alley. I didn't think she would want to even look at them – she hates everything that's got to do with magic. She still does, so I guess you could say she hates me." Lily sighed.

Paige and Felice exchanged looks, both unsure of whether to interrupt their friend or not. She seemed to be talking to herself more than to them.

"Anyway, she seemed to have a thing with the jelly beans so I was just basically there, staring at her, not believing that _Petunia_, my _sister _Petunia, was being friendly and fun for once. That's when I decided not to waste the moment. It's one of the things I'll miss most 'cause I know she'll never be like that ever again … unless I could bring home a Super Pack of Bertie Botts …"

Lily stopped and looked at her friends, who looked at her blankly.

"I thought you hated your sister back?" Paige asked.

"Oh I do," laughed Lily. "But you can't fully hate someone who's related to you. There's always that little teeny weeny bit in your heart where you'll love them, like it or not." 

Felice pretended to wipe a tear in her eye. "Please," she sniffed. "don't get emotional on us. It' more than I can bare!"

Lily slapped her playfully and the three girls laughed.

"Thanks for the visit! I'd be glad ter have yer four again some other time. Not that busy these days," came a rough voice a few metres from behind them. 

The three girls jumped up and looked around just in time to see Peter, James, Sirius and Remus emerging from the gamekeeper's cabin. The girls stared at the boys, taking in their odd facial expressions. Peter had a strange one, looking a bit like a power-hungry person. His eyes were wide open and he was breathing deeply with a slight curl on the corners of his mouth, all the while looking determinedly at something. Sirius was, to all the girls' astonishment, looking downcast and dejected. The usual trademark grin that he always wore on his face had gone somewhere only to be replaced by an ugly frown. Remus was looking happy, with an added twinkle in his eye. And James, well James had a rather uncanny expression – he seemed to be angry, disbelieving and disgusted, all at the same time. 

Hagrid waved them goodbye and closed the door.

"Hey Lily," smiled Remus. "Paige, Felice." He nodded in their direction politely. "What are you doing here?"

James then did something unexplainable. At the mention of Lily's name, he jumped, stared wildly around until his gaze landed on the redhead. He gasped, eyes widening and yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Everyone looked flabbergasted. They all gawked at James for several seconds until Sirius decided to break the silence.

"James, I think Remus just asked the same question."

"We were just talking, reading, laughing – the sort of stuff that everyone else does when it's a weekend and there's no homework."

James was taking deep breaths and was still staring wide-eyed at Lily. Finally he gasped with what seemed like a large amount of strength, "I – I'm going … lunch … I'm hungry." And he ran off.

"Doesn't seem very good with girls, that one, does he?" said Lily, watching James dash up the castle steps. 

The three boys said goodbye and followed James to lunch. The girls sat there in silence, taking in what had just happened. Then Paige and Felice followed suit and left Lily by herself. Ten pages after her best friends left, Lily heard a sobbing noise coming from somewhere not far away. Closing her book, she looked around, her curiosity getting the better of her.

She walked around, following the muffled sound. Every step she took sounded like she was getting closer and closer to her target. Finally, she stopped dead in front of Hagrid's cabin. The sobbing was coming from in there, she was sure of it. Lily walked as carefully and silently as she could up the steps, her head in an odd position way ahead of her shoulders. As a result of not looking where she was going, she tripped. Lily swung out her hands just before she collided with the enormous wooden door. The impact made quite a bit of noise and at once, the sobbing vanished. The door flew open and before Lily could stand up, she found herself facing Hagrid's tremendous figure, looking ten times as menacing.

"Who's there?" Hagrid said worriedly, obviously missing Lily. "Who was that?"

"H – Hello …" mumbled Lily from somewhere below him.

The giant glanced down and spotted Lily, sprawled on the ground. He gave a sigh of relief and helped her up to her feet.

"And what can I do fer you, Miss Evans?" he asked, smiling.

"P – Please, call me Lily," she said. "I just heard … heard someone crying and I thought … I thought I might go see if they were okay or not."

"Ye're a gentle miss, aren' yeh?" said Hagrid. "Cummin, cummin. I seem to be gettin' a lot of visitors today." Hagrid bustled around the kitchen while Lily took a seat in front of the vast table Hagrid owned. 

"Cup o' tea?"

Lily looked around the small room, taking in the objects that lay here and there, looking like they were too big to be in such a small place. Everything was pretty cramped in but there was still that sense of cosiness within the cabin.

""So yeh heard me howlin', did yeh?" Hagrid said, handing Lily a hot cup.

"Er, howling?"

"Cryin'."

"Oh!" she said. "Well, yeah I guess. I really didn't know who it was but if it was coming from here then it had to be you erm …"

"Hagrid," he supplied helpfully.

"Yes," Lily squirmed in her chair uncomfortably. "Can I ask something Hagrid?" she asked after a moment's pause.

He looked at her with his warm beetle black eyes. They still had a faint shine of sadness and Lily's sympathy grew towards him even though she didn't know why.

"Why were you crying?"

Hagrid seemed to observe her. Then he turned around and pointed at something behind him. 

"See that, Lily? It's a mirror of some sort. Tells yeh somethin' but the boys and meself can' figure out whether it's tellin' the future or not. Can' be though … some things you see in there are gone from this bloomin' world so howr'you s'posed to see them again?!" Hagrid slammed a fist into the table, causing it to shake.

Lily began taking deep breaths. "What did you see, Hagrid? I still don't understand what this mirror's about but I've got time if you need to talk."

"Me parents …" fat, large tears leaked out of Hagrid's eyes. He began crying. "Me mum and me dad … saw them both in there … there were smilin' like they had no problems in the world … both o' them looked _happy_ …"

"What do you mean Hagrid? Aren't they happy now?"

"I dunno … s'pose me old dad's happy. He's dead now o'course … died in me second year …"

Lily gasped. "I'm so sorry!"

"And me mum … I don' like talkin' about her," he said gruffly. "I've never even seen her! Left jus' before I was born. Left me poor dad to take care o' me." Hagrid looked at Lily carefully, studying her face. He seemed to have reached a decision and said, "Yeh know what, Lily? I trust yeh. I know I've only known yeh for around about three minutes but I trust yeh." Lily blushed. 

"Thanks Hagrid but – "

"Can I tell yeh something? Can you keep a secret for me?"

"I …" Lily stopped and thought. What did Hagrid want her to know? Curious, she replied instead, "Yes Hagrid, I'll be glad to keep any secret."

More tears poured out onto Hagrid's red cheeks as he choked out the words. "Me mum was a giantess, Lily, a giantess!" he said in a hoarse whisper. Lily gasped. "Yeh have no idea how ashamed … how _scared _I am to – to be rejected. 'Course, I already have been at school …"

"So you've never spoken to your mother before?"

"Never in me whole life."

"Would you like to, though Hagrid?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well, if you want, I could help you find her. I'll research about what happened to the giants and everything, but of course, I'll need some of your help."

"Y – Yeh would _do_ that, for – for _me_?"

"Why not?" said Lily. "It'll probably be a lot of work but I'm sure we can try … there's really no harm to it, is there?"

Hagrid suddenly jumped up and enveloped Lily into a bone-crushing hug. Lily laughed, feeling her own tears welling up.

"Are yeh sure that – that you want to do this?" he asked uncertainly but hopefully.

"Yes," Lily smiled. Then before she changed her mind, she asked Hagrid a question. "Can I look in the mirror Hagrid?"

"Wha - ? Oh! 'Course yeh can."

Lily walked up to the enchanted glass. She stood in front of it, feeling like a small bug compared to its infinite height. That's when she looked to discover what this mirror held for her.

It was her sister and herself hugging. Petunia was laughing, her whole face lighted up in a big smile. Lily was pretty much the same, her hands gesturing wildly and her mouth talking at a hundred miles per hour. Lily strained to hear what her mirror-self was saying but no words were heard. Petunia was listening intently to Lily, once in a while taking the chance to laugh. It was basically a dream that had never come true. Lily and Petunia acting like real sisters. Lily shook her head and bowed, hastily wiping the tears.

"What's the mirror showin' yeh?" asked Hagrid from behind her.

Lily couldn't bring herself up to answer him. For so long she had wanted to see what it would be like if her and Petunia got along. Now she had seen and now she wanted to experience. It was painful to even think about it. She wanted that kind of bond with her sister more than ever.

She decided to side-track Hagrid from his question. "You know what Hagrid?" she said. "I think we better take a trip down to the good old library and get down into some serious researching." 


	10. It's Missing

****

Chapter Ten

~It's Missing~

Lily Evans  
  
"There's heaps of stuff on giants but I haven't read a single word that mentions your mother's name, Hagrid," Lily said, flipping through an ancient book.  
  
"Tell you what, Lily, let's take a break. I think me eyes are about to drop off."

"We've only been in the library for two hours! There's still time to look at some more books," Lily replied. Hagrid rubbed his eyes. "Oh come on, Hagrid ... do you really want to find out about your mother or not?"

"I do, I do," said Hagrid. "Look, let's bring these piles o' books to me cabin and have another cup o' tea in there. You can look through them all yeh want but me eyes really need ter close, Lily."

"Deal." Lily stood up and began to gather their belongings. Once Hagrid and herself were outside walking across the lawns, she mentally thanked the soothing breeze that played across her face. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"It's a nice day isn't it?" she said. "Nothing's gone wrong today which is something different. Usually those four mongrels wreck the day with one of their pranks."

"Who?"

"James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, Hagrid! You should see them everyday - tricks and always up to mischief. They don't seem to mind getting into trouble at every hour."

Hagrid chuckled. "I like those four ... gotta good sense o' humour about them." Lily scowled. "Even if it's trouble they get up ter, they know how ter have fun eh?" Lily shook her head. "Aw c'mon Lily! I know yeh'd be havin' a borin' life right now if it weren't for those four."

"I'd be having a very peaceful life, thank you very much."

Hagrid laughed as he pushed his door open for the little lady.

The two stopped dead. Something seemed unpleasantly odd about Hagrid's cabin - it seemed more spacious ... as if something had gone missing ... something large ... 

"Hagrid ..."

"_Where in the hell is the Mirror?!_"   
  
"I was about to ask that."  
  
Hagrid rushed inside his house and started frantically looking everywhere even in the cupboards.

"I don't think a Mirror that big could fit in there," Lily said, walking in shakily and sitting down. She placed her head in her hands, her elbow resting on her knees.

"I'm dead ... I swear, Dumbledore'll sack me ..."  
  
"Oh don't be silly! He won't _sack _you. He might get mad yes, but he won't sack you."

"Thanks, Lily."  
  
Hagrid bustled around, making sure he looked under everything and didn't miss a spot. Lily lifted her head and groaned.

"Hagrid, can you please sit down? I know this is a very scary time for you right now but panicking will not help solve this problem."  
  
Hagrid sat heavily on a chair across from her.

"It was here when we left, remember? Yeh saw it, didn' yeh? It was _here_!"

"I know, I know." Lily scrunched up her face in concentration. "It was here two hours ago so that clearly means it was taken some time then, while we were in the library ..."

"Why couldn' I have taken it straigh' away ter the Professor?" Hagrid muttered to himself, rocking backwards and forwards in order to try and calm himself.

" ... maybe someone would've seen them - whoever it was - that stole the Mirror ..."

"STOLEN!" Hagrid cried. "_Stolen_! I never knew this could happen!"

"I knew this day was too perfect," Lily mumbled.

"What are we gonna do? What am _I _gonna do?"   
  
"Tell Dumbledore."  


"What? Are yeh mad? He'd kill me!"

"You know for a fact that he wouldn't Hagrid. It's the best and only thing we can do right now." Lily stood up and made for the open door. "Come on, then. Don't waste any time," she said this in a surprisingly stern voice, yet calm.

"How do yeh do that?"

"Do what?"

"Stay calm and in control."

"I don't even know I'm doing it."

Hagrid's strides were so big Lily had to jog to keep up. "Do you know by any chance where the Headmaster's office is?"

"Yeah, bin there a couple o' times meself when I was in other sorts o' trouble." Hagrid sighed deeply. "I _still _can' believe me bad luck though, Lily. I _just _had ter lose somethin' big and valuable that woulda cost a whole pile o' galleons."  
  
They were inside the castle now. Lily looked left and right, wondering which way to go but Hagrid had already started going left. Lily ran and caught up with him. He was still vaguely muttering to himself.

"Wonder if I'd have ter pay Professor fer the Mirror? I don' have that much money in me bank but I'd give me whole lot, if I had ter. You've no idea how bad I feel Lily. The Professor trusted me with this - this _huge _and - and _expensive _thing and I had ter go and lose it ... I can bang my head on a wall, hones'ly ..."

"But you won't do that Hagrid. And yes, I do have _some _idea of how bad you feel because it's partly my fault now, that that Mirror is gone. If I hadn't dragged you to the library, it'd probably still be there."

They reached a stone gargoyle and finally, Hagrid stopped. He stared at it for a few moments, clearly trying his best to remember what the password was. Eventually he said, "Erised." The carved stone jumped to life and sprang aside, revealing a magnificent doorway that led to an ascending staircase.

Lily had barely put her foot down on a stair when someone called from behind them.

"Miss Evans! Hagrid! What in the name of Merlin do you two think you are doing?"

"Professor McGonagall," Lily began, running towards her, afraid to get into trouble. "Er, we were just looking for Professor Dumbledore."

"The Headmaster?" McGonagall gave her a questioning look.

"Er - yeah. We just wanted to tell him something." Lily shuffled nervously on her feet.  


"Well, Miss Evans, I'm sorry to say that unless what you were planning to tell Professor Dumbledore was strictly urgent, you will not be able to talk to him. He has just left Hogwarts for a _very _important conference meeting with the Ministry of Magic and won't be back for a month."

"_A month_?" Hagrid gagged. "But - but ..."

"I was left to substitute as the Headmaster for this school for the time being, Hagrid. If you have any problems with that, I would be more than happy to hear it." McGonagall's lips were frighteningly thin.

"No, Professor. It's okay. We had nothing urgent to tell the Headmaster anyway," Lily started thanking the Professor but Hagrid choked.

"Not - not important? Not urgent? Lily!"

"Come Hagrid, we need some more books," she gave the giant a piercing look that clearly said _Let's get out of here and I'll explain later. _"Thank you, Professor." And they were gone. 

****

* * *

James Potter

"Remind me what we're doing in here again?" said Sirius, frowning as the four entered the silent library.

"Sirius, use your little brain," James laughed. "Put two and two together. It's that simple. We have homework, the library has books. We need books to help us with our homework."

"We're studying aren't we?" Sirius's face dropped dramatically.

"Now, it wasn't that hard was it?"

Remus, Sirius and Peter all followed James to a table. It was originally Remus's idea to go and study and everyone seemed taken aback at how much James liked the idea. As soon as the words "Hey, great idea, Remsey buddy!" left his mouth, the other three froze and looked at him strangely. Sirius even got up and began taking his temperature.

"No I'm serious," James had said, waving Sirius away from his forehead. "We should get our studying over and done with so we could have more time to plan pranks and stuff."

Now the four had marched down to the library with James as some sort of leader. They all sat down around a wooden table, bringing out their parchments, quills and inks.

"Right," James started to take charge. "Let's - "

"James are you sure you don't need to see Madam Pomfrey? I'm really worried about you," Sirius said. "You've never acted this freaky before."

"Shut up Sirius. You'll agree with me once we've finished our stuff. Then you'll be saying 'I can't believe I ever doubted you Oh Great One!' and so on." Sirius looked dumbfounded. James laughed and continued. "Anyway, as I was saying, let's all do the same subject so we can help each other. Right, Potions first. Someone help me go find a book on the Remembering Potion. That slimy git told us to find the properties of the ingredients, tell something about their history then copy down how to make the Potion. _Then _we have to make up twenty questions that we could ask a partner next class. Well, I assume those questions will have to have something to do with the Remembering Potion ..."

Sirius followed James, both of them weaving in and out of the various shelves of the library, every once in a while pulling a book down that looked slightly useful, then flicking through its pages. Well, at least this was what James was doing. Sirius, however, was in a completely different world.

"James! _Oi James_! Come and have a look at this beauty!" Sirius cried. Not a millisecond after, Madam Pince had whooshed to his side and had given him a lecture that if he "doesn't keep his voice down at this very minute, you'll be sent straight out."

Once the librarian had stalked away back to her desk, James went over to have a look at what Sirius was on about.

"Sirius buddy old pal! I knew you had it in you!" said James.

"What are you talking about?"

"You found some information on the Remembering Potion right?"

"Er - no. Actually, I haven't found a single sentence on it," replied Sirius. James looked ready to explode. Sirius held a hand to shush him up. "Wait! Before you begin screaming at me 'Oh Great One', take a look at this." Sirius pushed into his arms an open book.

**__**

The Smelly Self Spell

This hilariously conducted spell can enable the victim to be attached to a ridiculous stench. The spell gives out the nasty smell of rotten eggs, unwashed socks, dead rats and garbage bins. This spell will remain with the victim for approximately forty-eight hours, depending on how well the spell has been cast. Now, to cast the spell requires a force of mind. You will have to concentrate and devote your whole mind to the four combined smells then, keeping up these mental thoughts, repeat these words: **Foeteor, foeteo, foeteo adgravesco.** Your spell will immediately take place. Enjoy!

Strict as though James felt right now, he couldn't help but snigger at Sirius's brilliance at spotting books like these. He looked at Sirius who smiled.

"Am I a legend or what?" he said smugly. "Tell me I'm a legend."

"This is brilliant!" James said, looking through the rest of the book. Sirius scowled.

"That wasn't 'legend'," he whinged. Then he shrugged. "But I guess it's good enough."

As Sirius and James made their way back to Remus and Peter with a tottering pile of books, they heard a voice which made the pair's ears perk up. Deciding to investigate more closely, they hurried to their table, dropped off the thick volumes and dragged Peter and Remus along with them.

"What's so urgent?" Peter asked, irritated. He ripped James's hand off his arm. James turned around.

James was, by a fair amount, taller than Peter. The small boy was engulfed suddenly in the shadow of James. James glared at him. "What did you do that for? That hurt! You nearly ripped out my skin!" Peter shook but held his ground. 

"Do you think I care?" he walked off to Remus.

"What's gotten into him?" James asked Remus. 

"I dunno, he's been acting pretty strangely since we saw the Mirror at Hagrid's."

Their conversation ended there however because the intriguing voices were back again. The four boys hid behind a large shelf, their noses hidden behind books dedicated to vampires.

" ... care to dare me?" the voice challenged. "I bet I can get any girl I wanted. BAM! Just like that, like the click of my fingers." 

"That's Lucius Malfoy!" Sirius hissed to Remus.

Another voice spoke up. "You serious? You're actually asking us to dare you to ask out any girl? Any at all?"

"No you stupid great prat! I wasn't serious! I'm not in the mood to be bossed around by you two. Besides, I don't get mindless people to pick a girl for me, I'd much rather like to do it myself."

"You're just scared the girl won't say yes to you!" a third voice spoke up.

"_Scared?_ I think not, Crabbe. I'd like to see _you _try and ask out someone. Don't bother, I know they'd drop dead before they can even say 'no'."

"And what, may I ask, are you four doing?" Madam Pince was right behind them, sneering in a way that resembled Filch.

"Erm - vampires!" Remus said, coming to the rescue. "Interesting, aren't they, Madam Pince? You ought to read these books one day." He grabbed a book and ran for it. The other three imitated. Once out of earshot, James turned to the other three.

"So old Lucius thinks he owns the whole female population. Tut tut, he won't be happy when he finds out we heard him ..."

"Okay James," Remus sighed. "I give up. What plan are you forming in your mind now?"

James grinned. Sirius grinned. Peter and Remus gave each other a look of question.

"Tell us then!"

"Oh, this will be _so _much fun ..."

* * *

****

Lily Evans

"Why don't we owl the Headmaster, Lily? That wouldn't be a bad idea - "

"_No _Hagrid," said Lily firmly. "I told you, Professor Dumbledore would prefer it if we told him in person. I suggest we don't worry about the Mirror for now - well, at least try not to anyway. When Dumbledore comes back, we'll be by his side the minute he steps foot into this castle. Now, if he happens to owl _us _about the Mirror, _then _we can owl him back and tell him everything that happened."

"Ah, if yeh say so ..." said Hagrid, giving Lily a sideways glance as they walked back up to his cabin.

"Trust me on this one, Hagrid."

"I will, I trust yeh."

"Okay, now let's get back to this researching," said Lily. "By the way, would you happen to have any books about giants, Hagrid?"

"Monster Book O' Monsters ... if that'd help."

"Pass it over then." She waited until Hagrid had tamed the wild book which had previously been trying to bite off his nose. He tickled it very gently and the book stopped its wriggling and propped open in his hands. He passed it to Lily. She flicked through the pages until she found the page where it contained information about giants:

**__**

*Giants - Giants are considered scary creatures and they have no feeling or emotion, or very little of it anyway. Their most popular instinct is to kill and that's why they are scary. They are abnormally large (thus the name Giant). The few that are left are isolated, mostly living in mountains in various parts of the world. Half giants are smaller giants that are the child of a giant and a normal person. Half giants can feel much more emotion and they can also be very understanding and loving.

"Well there you go then," said Lily, seizing her quill and hurriedly taking down notes. "That explains why you're not as vicious."

"Nothing abou' me mum, I s'pose?" asked Hagrid hopefully.

Lily shook her head, "Sorry Hagrid."

"Ah well, better luck next time."

~~~~~~

*Paragraph from: http://www.geocities.com/hogwarts_online_school/monster.html


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